Unionized National Grid workers approve strike authorization as talks continue
Unionized National Grid workers, whose contract expires next week, voted Wednesday to authorize a strike if a new pact isn't reached by midnight on Feb. 13.
An official for Local 1049 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers said 99% of members who cast a vote authorized the prospect of a strike. The vote was 409 to 6.
The union represents nearly 1,200 National Grid natural gas workers in back-office and field positions, and several hundred power plant workers at facilities under contract to the Long Island Power Authority. London-based National Grid owns three big power plants in Northport, Port Jefferson and Island Park, and smaller plants throughout the Island.